Ann Donahue serves as Director, Communications for Western Growers, where she is responsible for external communication efforts and publicizing the Association’s executives, initiatives, and members across all media platforms. Ann spent more than 20 years as an editor and reporter covering entertainment journalism, with bylines at publications including Variety, the L.A. Times, Billboard, IndieWire, and […]
Western Growers has joined more than 30 other agricultural organizations in asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reject a petition that seeks formal agency rulemaking or interpretation of seed treatments falling under the treated article exemption. In part, the coalition letter states: “There is no benefit to be gained by imposing duplicative layers of…
This is the first episode in a special two-part Voices of the Valley that is dedicated to the memory of produce industry stalwart Hank Giclas, the former Senior Vice President of Science, Technology & Strategic Planning at Western Growers, who passed away in August. Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia, Secretary of the California ...
After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology Lunch & Learn series returned last week with a presentation from Dr. Hillary Thomas, the Research and Technical Director at Naturipe Berry Growers. At Naturipe, Dr. Thomas focuses on the development of applied agricultural programs and technology transfer to ...
In this episode, Voices of the Valley continues to honor Hank Giclas, the produce industry veteran who passed away in August. Bruce Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms; Edwin Camp, President of D.M. Camp & Sons; Joe Pezzini, Sr. Director of Ag Operations at Taylor Farms and Peter Wren-Hilton, Founder of Wharf42 Ltd., all ...
An Executive Order was issued by President Joe Biden on Sept. 12 that calls on federal departments and agencies to increase the use of bio-based products and identify barriers to agricultural biotechnology. Per the order, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have 180 days to find “ambiguity, ...
Jennifer Sey will kick off the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting on “Speaking Out After Resigning as Global Brand President of Levi’s.” Jennifer Sey is an author, former national gymnastics champion, and corporate leader who spent close to 23 years at Levi Strauss & Co., holding various leadership positions. She began in 1999 as a ...
The Alliance for Food and Farming hosted its fifth Safe Fruits and Veggies Farm Tour for registered dietitians, health and nutrition writers and influencers from Sept. 12-14, 2022 in the San Joaquin Valley. Western Growers was one of the sponsors of the tour, during which participants visited Porterville Citrus, HMC Farms, Family Tree Farms, Jasmine Vineyards ...
In this week’s episode of Voices of the Valley, Dick Rogers, Entomologist at Bayer Crop Science, discusses the need to meld nature and technology to create and monitor healthy honeybee colonies. Dick wants to move towards the creation of a “genius hive,” which would use data to ensure the right conditions exist for thriving bee ...
The September/October issue of Western Grower & Shipper Magazine is now available; print copies should be in your mailbox shortly and articles from the issue can be accessed online here. The articles in the issue include: President’s Notes: Economics Always Wins Western Growers’ 2022 Award of Honor Recipient Exemplifies the Best of California Agribusiness: Celebrating John…
The first edition of FIRA USA, the cutting-edge agtech robotics conference, will be held from Oct. 18-20, 2022 in Fresno, and Western Growers members can click here to register! Co-sponsored by GOFAR-FIRA, the University of California and Western Growers, FIRA USA 2022 is a unique event dedicated to robotics, autonomous systems and technologies for farming. Through ...
Dr. Eugenia Saini, the Executive Secretary of Fontagro, joins the podcast to talk about her objective of strengthening public and private strategic alliances that enhance international cooperation between scientists and farmers. It’s a goal that requires boundless curiosity and big picture thinking; Eugenia has three degrees from the University of Buenos Aires and was a ...
The agenda for the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting, which will be held Nov. 2-5, 2022 at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, is now complete! Among the highlights: Kick Off Keynote: Jennifer Sey -Speaking Out After Resigning as Global Brand President of Levi’s PAC Luncheon: Featuring Karl Rove Featured Session – When Family Farms ...
More than 10 tech startups from the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology toured GreenGate Fresh in Salinas, Calif. to learn first-hand about how processing plants work and what technology the facility already uses. GreenGate Fresh is lead by Robert K. Barkley, Travis Pendleton, Jay Iverson and Keith Bazabal, who have more than 100 ...
IRVINE, CALIF. (Sept. 6, 2022) – Western Growers is debuting five documentary short videos online today that give first-hand accounts of how the unrelenting historic drought is hurting Caifornia farmers. Produced in association with the California Farm Water Coalition, the videos show the drought’s impact on consumers via stories from Booth Ranches in Orange Cove, ...
The beginnings of a robotics revolution in the agricultural world will take place in California on Oct. 18-20. Over 800 people who work in the food system, technology experts and others are expected to gather at FIRA USA in Fresno, Calif., to discover the latest self-sustaining solutions to farm labor shortages and environmental challenges. They ...
IRVINE, CALIF. (Sept. 29, 2022) – Following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signing of AB 2183 into law, Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia issued the following statement: “It is shameful that Governor Newsom invoked the name of Cesar Chavez in signing AB 2183. Instead of advancing the labor icon’s movement, as the Governor claimed, California ...
We’ve all been guilty of it, especially during the last six months: Doomscrolling. With a near-constant grind of weighty, difficult news stories available 24-7 on your nearest screen, it’s easy to zone out as the grim parade of current events passes in front of us: politics, economic upheaval, pandemics, natural disasters and war. With all ...
There is competition, and then there is competition with a quarter of a million dollars on the line in front of a live audience filled with people hanging on your every word. We’re referring, of course, to the AgSharks® Competition, which will return to the 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting. This year’s Annual Meeting will ...
We can’t hold our cards too close to our vest anymore: You are invited to join the full house for the Western Growers Annual Meeting, which will be held at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas from Nov. 2-5, 2022. (Fine, fine. We’ll stop with Vegas puns now.) This will be the 96th WG Annual Meeting, ...
In “East of Eden,” Nobel Prize-winning writer John Steinbeck wrote the following: “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must ...
